Hamilton was ranked the 19th highest paid sports star by Forbes last year, yet the new deal would almost certainly see him move above athletes such as Neymar, Novak Djokovic and Derrick Rose.

On top his lucrative contract, Hamilton makes around £2m a year from sponsorship deals which include watchmakers IWC and transportation company Bombardier. Unlike many other super-rich sportsmen, Hamilton gets to keep 100 per cent of his money by virtue of making tax-free haven Monaco his home.

Is Britain's only double world champion worth such a big pay packet? He is rumoured to have firmly fought his corner for the agreement - as well as other details such as being able to keep his trophies himself rather than have them paraded at Mercedes' headquarters.

Yet Hamilton is arguing from a position of strength. As well as a dominant Championship winning performance last season (which looks likely to be replicated this year), the first black driver in F1 is one of the most widely recognised and marketable figures in the sport.

Sports marketing researchers Repucom claimed he was the fourth-most marketable figure in the sport. Hamilton has over 3m "likes" on Facebook (Fernando Alonso has 1.6m) and 2.74m followers on Twitter.